There is no better cultural weather vane than pop. It’s not that pop singers possess incredible analytical skills – they don’t. It’s more that it’s in their interests to reflect some prevailing mood. And what people call a vibe shift can often be gleaned by comparing two artists. Take those featured this week: one very much au courant, the other regarded as a searing commentator on 1980s Britain.
It’s a very good album, one for sitting down and listening to rather than standing in a vast shed to hear
Over the past couple of years, Raye – a 26-year-old Londoner – has become rather a star. You may remember that she had a bunch of hit singles early on, but her label showed no interest in releasing an album. So she walked out on Polydor and released My 21st Century Blues herself.
Quite what Polydor were thinking remains a mystery: attractive young women singing relatable songs set to an accessible retro backing is perpetually attractive to listeners, as Adele and Amy Winehouse and scores of others prove.
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